MEDIA RELEASE: TAXI OWNERS TAKE ON THE AUTOMOTIVE AFTERMARKET WITH NEW KARIEGA WORKSHOP AND SPARES BUSINESS
ECDC-supported cooperative sets out to keep taxi maintenance spend within the industry and creates 10 permanent jobs
Kariega, Eastern Cape, 7 October 2026: Every taxi standing in a workshop is income its owner is not earning. A group of Kariega taxi operators has decided that the money spent keeping those vehicles on the road should build a business they own.
The UDTA Auto Spare Primary Co-operative Limited, established in November 2025 by five members of the Uitenhage and District Taxi Association (UDTA), officially opened its workshop and spares facility in Kariega on 1 October. The move takes taxi operators beyond passenger transport and into the automotive aftermarket.
The cooperative has a ready market in more than 180 UDTA minibus taxi operators, who together operate about 580 vehicles. It was formed in response to high maintenance costs, long repair turnaround times and limited access to specialised services, all of which cut into operators' income and the availability of their vehicles.
The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC), through its Imvaba Co-operative Fund, approved R300,000 towards machinery and equipment, including vehicle lifts, diagnostic equipment, a tyre changer and wheel balancing equipment. The owners had already invested more than R600,000 of their own money in renovating the property from which the business operates.
The facility offers engine repairs, tyre repairs, wheel alignment, gearbox replacement and the sale of automotive parts and accessories.
ECDC’s newly appointed Executive Manager: Enterprise Finance, Support and Fund Management, Vuyokazi Zozi, said the support was about more than funding.
“The intervention is not simply about providing financial support; it is about enabling a locally owned enterprise to build the capacity required to participate meaningfully and take ownership of the automotive value chain in which its members already participate as taxi owners, said Zozi.
She said ownership is central to the model.
“The initiative provides an opportunity for taxi owners to derive greater economic value from their primary business operations by retaining 100% ownership of the auto spares and service facility, effectively becoming both customers and beneficiaries of their own enterprise,” she said.
The business case rests on spend that already exists. The cooperative’s plan projects R1.66 million in sales in its first year, calculated from what UDTA operators currently spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs. Members have resolved that no profits will be distributed for the first three years, with earnings reinvested in growth, equipment, emergencies and future projects.
For UDTA, the facility answers an everyday commercial pressure.
“When a taxi is standing, that taxi is not generating income. Every hour that a vehicle remains off the road affects the owner, the driver, the employees and ultimately the passengers who depend on that vehicle,” said UDTA Project Director Vuyani Kota at the official opening.
The cooperative’s ambitions reach beyond its own members. Its identified markets include other taxi operators, private and small fleets, courier and security companies, construction businesses and other vehicle owners in Nelson Mandela Bay and surrounding areas.
The business is expected to create 10 permanent jobs across technical, management, administrative and security roles. Its plan also provides for hosting students from Midlands TVET College for practical workplace experience towards their qualifications.
Zozi said ECDC would ultimately measure the success of the investment by the cooperative's ability to become a sustainable and growing enterprise, retain and create jobs, diversify its customer base and generate sufficient revenue to support its operations and future expansion.
“Success would also mean that the investment continues to generate value beyond the initial funding intervention through job creation, skills development, local procurement and increased participation in the automotive value chain,” she said.
Speaking at the official opening, Eastern Cape Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Nonkqubela Pieters, said the significance of the initiative extended beyond the physical facility.
“Today is not simply about opening a workshop and spares facility. It is about demonstrating what becomes possible when organised industry, communities and government work together to translate economic policy into practical opportunities on the ground,” said Pieters.
She said the taxi industry’s economic contribution should not be limited to transporting passengers, with room for operators to participate more fully in enterprise development, local procurement, skills development, vehicle maintenance and automotive supply chains..
“A workshop and spares facility may appear local in scale, but its economic significance can extend much further when it becomes part of the broader ecosystem of suppliers, service providers, skills development and enterprise support,” Pieters said.
Pieters challenged operators to see themselves not only as owners of taxis, but as entrepreneurs capable of building businesses across the value chain.
“As much as you are owners of taxis, you are also owners of your own businesses. You are businesspeople,” she said.
The Kariega facility is the first step towards realising that idea: a business owned by participants in the taxi industry, supported through development finance and built on a market that already exists.
ENDS
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Malithatwe Nombewu
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Email: mnombewu@ecdc.co.za
